Israel Matzav

Bollinger v. Ahmadinejad

Here are three videos - the first two are Columbia President Lee Bollinger's 'questions' to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the third is the first part of Ahmadinejad's response. Hat tips for the videos to Hot Air and Little Green Footballs. Hot Air and Little Green Footballs also have extensive coverage of today's events at Columbia that deserve being read and viewed.







The Jerusalem Post picked up the Associate Press' coverage. There are a couple of points in the article that deserve follow-up:

"You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Bollinger challenged Ahmadinejad about his Holocaust denial. "Will you cease this outrage?"

Ahmadinejad said he simply wanted more research on the Holocaust, which he said was abused as a justification for Israeli mistreatment of the Palestinians.

"Why is it that the Palestinian people are paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with?" Ahmadinejad asked.

I don't think Ahmadinejad really believes that the Holocaust is being used as a justification for Israel to 'mistreat' the 'Palestinian people.' I think that deep down even he knows that's a lie. But if he does believe it's the truth, then he needs to be taught the truth about Israel (that the 'Palestinians' living in Israel have more rights than in any Arab country) and he needs a history lesson about the 'Palestinian people' and about the Jewish people's thousands of years' connection with the land of Israel.

Earlier Monday, Ahmadinejad said that Iran would not launch an attack on Israel or any other country, and he does not believe the US is preparing for war against Iran.

"Iran will not attack any country," Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press after being asked if it would ever make a first strike against Israel. Iran has always maintained a defensive policy, not an offensive one, he said, and has "never sought to expand its territory."

He said he did not believe the US was preparing for war.

"I believe that some of the talk in this regard arises first of all from anger. Secondly, it serves the electoral purposes domestically in this country. Third, it serves as a cover for policy failures over Iraq."

In a 30-minute interview at a hotel near the United Nations, Ahmadinejad struck a consistently soothing tone. He said Iranian foreign policy was based on humanitarian concerns and seeking justice, and that it is not in its interest to stir up problems for its neighbors.

He reiterated, however, his call for a debate at the United Nations with President George W. Bush, suggesting throughout the interview that many of the tensions and the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan stem from American miscalculations, rather than Iranian provocations.

Referring to fears of a military campaign against Iran, he said: "We don't think you can compensate for one mistake by committing more mistakes."

...

Iran wants tensions to decline, he said.

"We oppose war because we believe that through negotiations and talks, all the problems can be resolved, provided that the parties to the talks believe in justice and uphold justice."

Ahmadinejad said that Iran has already made proposals to US politicians over Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinians that are all based on seeking peace in the region.

"But we believe that for these to succeed we need two conditions in place: first, seriousness, and second, honesty and sincerity. If the two go hand-in-hand then the results can be effective," he said.

Iran is not ready for war - yet. I think a lot of the conciliatory words highlighted above make it look like Ahmadinejad is running scared. Despite all his craziness, you don't see him out there saying, "Come on George, bring it on." I think that means he's not ready yet. But the window of opportunity until he is ready may be closing. And Ahmadinejad has already shown enough craziness to make the prospect of him having nuclear weapons a very frightening one.

As in his other replies, he referred to Israel as the "Zionist regime," and not by its name.

As much as that is abhorrent, I think Israel is referred to that way - or as the 'Zionist entity' - by every Arab country and by its official media, including by the 'Palestinians' and usually including by Egypt and Jordan - with whom we have 'peace treaties' - as well. Let's not fool ourselves that anyone else in the Arab Muslim world loves us any more than Ahmadinejad does.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:25 AM